


Twilight: New Dawn

by Ciel_of_the_Night



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, F/M, Reincarnation, Transmigration, basicallyedwardslashoriginalfemalecharacterwhoendsupinbellasbody
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:54:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28136514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ciel_of_the_Night/pseuds/Ciel_of_the_Night
Summary: When Lillian De Clarke, budding violinist, is hit by a speeding car and dies, she thinks her life is over. But, as it turns out, fate may have known what it was doing, after all.  (A rebirth/transmigration fic centered around the town of Forks, and its sparkly inhabitants).
Relationships: Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Edward Cullen/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 94
Kudos: 136





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Look...I never thought I'd be here, but hey, that just goes to show that anything's possible. Truth be told, I'd completely forgotten about Twilight (coughandIwasprettyhappyaboutitcough) and THEN my dear sweet friend Sayuri_Zen_av_Elda decided to send me a Twilight fanfic, which got me hooked on a downward spiral bc there aren't that many good Twilight fics out there and she should have warned me before getting me hooked and and--- Aaaanyways, here we are, I got so desperate I'm writing my own! 
> 
> Fair WARNING tho - I'm a perfectionist who generally despises anything I write with a fiery passion, and so posting will be a challenge for me. If you se something that could be improved upon, please leave a comment about it! If you've got experience and would like to beta read (along with my dear friend mentioned above) please drop me a line. Otherwise, just be aware that I shall try my best but I don't promise anything, and enjoy!

* * *

She’d been walking down the street when it happened - where from, she could no longer recall, and it wasn’t important anymore, in any case. Looking back, she was only just able to remember looking up, precious violin case strapped to her back, into a pair of bright yellow headlights. A fleeting second of horror, followed by a loud “bang!” was the only warning she got.The screams of onlookers as her throbbing body lay on the ground were fuzzy at best, and growing fuzzier still as the blackness around the edges of her vision grew to encompass everything.

Then, for a very, very long time, there was nothing. 

The next thing she became aware of, at the very edge of her consciousness, was a feeling of contentment welling in, like a warm blanket being thrown over you while you’re asleep, and the distant sound of someone speaking. Honestly, she almost resented the feeling. The darkness may have been cold, but it had been a comfortable cold, the way metal becomes almost pleasant after a time of wear, and she was reluctant to give it up. 

Nevertheless, she didn’t seem to have been given any choice in the matter, as after some unknown period of time had passed, there had been a light shining obnoxiously through the dark, like a spotlight aimed right at her face. After an eternity of darkness, it was both startling and unpleasant, and if she had had her way, she would probably have turned her metaphorical back on it and gone right back to sleep - or whatever you would call it - but once again, no such choice was awarded her. 

Instead, she was shoved into the world head first, greeted by noise and colours and smells, _somuchtoomuchstopitstopitpleasestop!_ Sheer terror, that’s the only way she knew how to describe it. Terror and horror and _hurt, dear sweet God, everything hurts!_

She screamed, fought, cried and cursed whatever being had seen fit to bring her there against her will. _Why?!_ She thought, _What have I ever done you? What have I ever done anyone?!_ But when she tried to speak, to yell, nothing but wails came out, and so she cried like there was no tomorrow, because there was little else she _could_ do, and the concept of tomorrow was long lost on her now. 

Later, her mother would always tell the story with a laugh, because, “It almost seemed like we had stolen you away from your real family or something, you were _completely_ inconsolable! That is, until your father (these storytimes were the only times during which Rene called Charlie _that)_ finally deigned to help. He leaned down, and whispered in your little ear-”

“Isabella. Bells. Don’t worry, daddy’s here.”

“- and if that isn’t the sweetest thing I ever heard your father say, I don’t know what is.”

Renee always liked to attribute her baby’s sudden silence to her father’s loving presence, but the reality was far less innocent. 

As she stared up at the unfamiliar face of the stubbled young man that was holding her so tenderly, Isabella - _but that wasn’t her name, that wasn’t it at all_ \- could only think: _This must be a dream. Please, let it be a dream._

But it was not. 

* * *

\- End of Ch. 1 - 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm back, and sooner than I thought! (This is the first time I've actually felt motivated to post more than a first chapter lol, I mean I still want to burn it, but a little less than usual, so I guess that's progress for ya). 
> 
> This is the last of the "pre-chapters" meaning that in the next chapter Bella/Lillian will finally be 17, and will thus be moving to Forks! Hope you like it, even though the real plot hasn't started yet. (Backstory is important ppl, even though it might not be as fun ;)). 
> 
> Much love, Ciel. 
> 
> Ps. Once again, thanks to my dear friend Sayuri_Zen_av_Elda for reading through this chapter before posting (even though her comments mostly consist of "everything's fine"s and admonishments to get some actual dialogue going sometime this century. *hides beneath blanket* I'll try ok? It's my weakness!).

At 7 months, Isabella spoke her first word. Renee, who had been in the middle of painting the kitchen ceiling, promptly fell off her stool in shock. 

At one years old, Isabella Swan wrote the word “hungry” on a paper towel. It has since been framed and proudly hung above the living room mantle, and several stories have been written on the “young prodigy”. 

By three years old, Isabella played the Violin like a ten-year old at least; by ten, her genius was undisputed. For some reason though, she refused to play on stage. 

At eleven, she started investing in stocks, and to everyone’s surprise, her predictions almost always came true. 

At thirteen, she had her first mental breakdown. It came out of nowhere, and Renee didn’t know what to do. Finally, she had no choice but to take Isabella to a therapist. As a result, the child became more withdrawn for a time, but at least one good thing came out of it: Isabella, who had previously refused to answer to anything else, asked her parents to call her “Bella”. 

Fifteen year old Bella Swan stood with her eyes closed, trying her best not to hyperventilate. This was a big step, and if tonight didn’t go as planned, she honestly didn’t know how she’d cope. Renee was around somewhere, probably just as nervous, but Bella couldn’t think about her right now - couldn’t think about anything except what she was going to do out there. 

“It’s ok,” she whispered to herself, “If this doesn’t work out, I’ll just have to try again, as many times as it takes.” _Or find a new hobby,_ she mentally added in her therapist’s slightly dry tone of voice. 

But no, she was going to do great, she knew these notes like the back of her hand. Somewhat calmer, she took a deep breath and looked around at the general chaos that was the backstage, letting the familiarity of it all soothe her fraying nerves until she felt almost normal again. 

“One minute to!” Someone shouted, and somehow the collective stress level rose another notch, until people were literally tripping over themselves in their hurry to get everything finished on time. 

She was told to prepare and suddenly Charlie, who had remained as solid as a cliff during the whole ordeal, but had been staying away for her sake, was there with a steadying hand on one shoulder and a gruff, “You’ve got this, Bells.” Renee, in turn, gave her a tearful kiss on the cheek and any number of sweet reassurances that honestly fell on deaf ears. Then, finally, she was ordered onstage by an incredibly harried-looking woman with a clipboard; the curtains parted, the room silent as the grave as she walked to stand in the spotlight. 

For a moment, she froze, the stares of hundreds of eyes making her breath quicken and hands tremble, but then it was like something inside of her just _~~remembered~~ __knew_ what to do. Her hands rose to position, chinrest and fingers in place, and she _played._

Sound flowed from her hands like a river, tones dancing in the air in spiraling ribbons of continuous wonder; gentle, almost questioning at first, but growing in confidence and resonance as the performance came to its peak. 

The audience sat, transfixed, even as she played her last note, so high it seemed almost a surprise it didn’t sprout wings and fly. For several breaths, not a sound could be heard, then the first person clapped, and the second, and the third, until it felt like the smattering of hands coming together should be able to be heard for miles. 

Bella, formerly known as Lillian De Clarke, closed her eyes and felt, for the first time since the day she opened her eyes in that hospital room so many years ago, whole. 

Then and there, she decided that whatever happened in the future, whatever creatures or evils she would have to encounter in this new life, it didn’t matter. She would treat it all like an adventure, and when or if she happened to die again? It would have been worth it, heartache though this new life had brought her. 

After all, it had given her this. 

\- End of Ch. 2 -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, what did you think? Do you hate the style of writing? It's what comes most natural to me (past tense and little dialogue) so I was really in my forte here, and I hope that you won't mind that some of the style will have to stay the same (with the addition of some dialogues, yes, lol). Drop a coment if you have the time (and feel like it), it really means a lot!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy everyoneeee... I'm sorry it took so long? *hides under desk*
> 
> No, but seriously, I am SO SORRY that this took so much longer than expected. I had kinda gotten into a workflow with the first two chapters, and then this one came along and I had to change the formatting, and make it longer, on top of finals and Christmas and New Year's and...It just didn't happen lol. I got such a case of writers block, and I'm still not all that satisfied with the chapter, but I think it's good enough to post for now, at least. (Sometime in the future I'll probably come back to this story and give it a much needed editing sesh.)
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy, and do tell me if there's a mistake somewhere or if you think that something needs to be changed. (English is my third language, so I don't always feel like I know what I'm doing haha). 
> 
> As always, thanks to my friend Sayuri_Zen_av_Elda for looking this over AND for reminding me over and over again to keep writing this fic, and not to give up because I may not feel that it's up to the standard it should be. Love you, girl!
> 
> Now, without further ado, on with the show!

“Are you _sure_ you want to go?” Renee asked worriedly, for what was probably the tenth time that morning. 

Bella sighed. They were at the airport, her flight was due for boarding in 20 minutes, and still Renee refused to give up. Bella didn’t recall it having been this difficult for the original Bella to leave in the books, but then again, the readers were never given that much detail about this part of Bella’s life, probably to make the whole leaving-her-mom-to-think-she-was-dead part seem less douchey than it actually was. Or maybe Renee was more worried about her than she would have been for the original Bella, given that she did have a history of psychological breakdowns. Well, either way, her mom would have to learn to let go. 

“Yes, I’m sure, mom,” she stated patiently, as she had every other time the question had come up, since the very day she told Renee she was leaving. 

Renee didn’t seem anymore appeased to hear it now than she had any of the previous times. She bit her lip and looked down, looking more like a guilty child than the adult she was supposed to be. 

Bella _really_ didn’t want to hurt her, but she had to go. Not, she told herself, because she was curious about the supernatural beings she was going to meet, but because it was the path that fate had chosen for her. And given that fate had given her a second chance at life, she thought she owed it this, at the very least. 

She didn’t have to fall in love - wouldn’t, at that, given that she’d always thought Edward awfully moody and bland - but she had to _be there_ , she could feel it. Besides, it’d be an adventure, a chance to let go and be a normal high schooler for once. With a sprinkle of the supernatural thrown in, of course, but who wouldn’t want the chance to meet a vampire, or even a werewolf, at that? She didn’t have to get involved, but witnessing something so magical was bound to be interesting, at least. 

The announcer’s voice sounded overhead, calling for boarding, and Renee sighed, finally seeming to give up. Her eyes were shiny when she looked up, her hands gripping Bella’s almost painfully. 

“You’re sure you won’t regret this, darling? Juilliard… It’s a big opportunity you’re giving up.”

“Mom, I told you, I want this. I have to go.”

“Okay baby, as long as you’re happy,” Renee smiled tearfully, “Don’t forget to write, and just tell me if you want to do a show - I’ll make it happen. The school promised to give you creative freedom, remember.”

“I will. Bye mom, I love you.”

“Love you more, darling.”

They hugged, and after one last shared smile, she went on to board the plane. Looking out the tiny airplane window, violin case clutched to her chest, another on the floor in between her legs, Bella couldn’t keep herself from smiling, even through the dread. 

She was finally on her way.   
  


* * *

The plane landed in Port Angeles in the early afternoon. It was raining, and Charlie was waiting for her in his police cruiser, looking uncharacteristically nervous but happy to see her. 

“What?” She said, after they’d put her baggage in the trunk and were well on their way out of town. They’d exchanged hellos and hugged already, but she could tell that he had something on his mind that he wasn’t saying. 

Charlie glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, as though trying to figure her out, but then simply grunted, “Nothing.”

She raised an eyebrow in response, turning to stare at him until, finally, he sighed, giving in. 

“Fine. God, Bells, you always have to drag these things out of me.” He huffed, but it was clearly good-natured, “I’m happy you’re here, you know that, but I do worry that this wasn’t the best choice for you. Julliard -”

“Can wait,” she interrupted firmly. “My dear old pops can’t. What if you go and die on one of those dangerous stakeouts of yours? I would feel terrible if we never got the chance to live together before then.”

“Mhm.” 

“Really dad, I’m just sooo worried about you. I can’t sleep at night thinking about what might happen.” She affected a sniffle, but thought it might have been a bit over the top when she saw Charlie’s mustache twitch. Especially considering they both knew that the most dangerous situation his job as Chief of Police for the town of Forks had ever put him in involved an old lady, a bottle of mustard and a wayward cat.

He would have left it at that - Charlie was great that way - but Bella knew it would have bugged him, and there really wasn’t any reason why she couldn’t be at least partially honest with him. So she turned fully towards him the next time they came to a stop in front of a red light, and said, more seriously, “Look, I just want a year or two of normal, that’s all. You _know_ what it’s been like - can’t you just be happy for me?” She trained him with her best puppy-dog look. 

Charlie was quiet for a good minute. In fact, the light had time to turn green again before he nodded once, resolutely, and that was that. The tension that had been present in the space between them disappeared, and they spent the rest of the journey in companionable silence, only broken occasionally by her tapping the rhythm of some pop song that was on the radio onto the glove compartment, or a quick exchange of smiles. 

When they arrived home a little over an hour later, Bella surprised herself with how nervous she was. The house that she had spent almost every summer of this life in felt almost foreign to her now. Probably because this time, her stay here would be permanent. 

“Everything alright there, Bells?” 

Bella blinked. She must have zoned out for a minute or two, because somehow Charlie had teleported onto the front steps with her bags and suitcases neatly stacked in two piles, waiting to be brought inside. 

“Everything is great,” she said honestly as she moved forward to help, “This is gonna be great, I can just feel it.”

Charlie blushed, “Uh well, I’m glad to hear that.”

Together, they brought her total of two suitcases, one carry-on suitcase, one hand-bag and two violin cases to her room upstairs. 

“Come down in an hour or so and we’ll have a late lunch, sound good?” Charlie said, before leaving her to her own devices. 

“Yup, perfect!” 

As soon as she was alone, she threw herself onto the bed, sighing heavily and trying to let the tension drain out of her muscles. So, she was finally here. The moment that she had been trying not to think too much about since the moment she realised just whose life she’d come to inhabit was here, and she didn’t quite know how to feel about it. 

She rubbed her eyes, and stared blankly around the room that some part of her had refused to believe was the same one that had existed in that story she’d read so long ago. It looked completely different to how it had been described in the original story: the walls were white, not purple; the fluttery translucent curtains gave the room an airy, unconcerned feel, and the furniture - a matching wooden dresser, desk, bedframe, bookshelf and chair, also in white but with accents of light wood - only compounded that impression. It might have felt impersonal, if not for the touches of herself that she could see strewn about the place - music sheets, books in piles in every corner because she’d run out of space on the bookshelves three summers ago, crystals and rocks she’d found on the La Push beach or bought with her own money, when she’d decided that she wanted to try to communicate with the universe through any means possible. She smiled fondly at that particular memory. 

A knock on the door interrupted her quiet musings, and she turned her head to see Charlie’s embarrassed face sticking in through the slight opening. 

“I- Uh, forgot to mention that I cleared some space for you in the bathroom.” He said sheepishly. 

She smiled fondly at him. Charlie truly was a great father. 

“Thanks, dad. I’ll be right down.”

Alone once more, Bella stretched, unpacked a few essentials and changed to something more comfortable - aka something without a bra - and went downstairs to make a quick but healthy lunch for them both. She spent the whole prep time bickering with Charlie about blood sugar and cholesterol, and all of lunch updating him about her current training schedule and musical goals. 

The afternoon was spent unpacking, and they went to the diner for dinner since it was her first night back, and the trip had taken a lot out of her. Still, she made sure to practice about an hour or so before bed, using the electric violin with a headphone jack that she’d brought for just that purpose. 

Lying in bed that night, Bella was both excited about and dreading the day to come. Hopefully, she’d be able to observe the Cullens from a distance without getting involved. 

_Fate, whatever you’ve got planned for me, I’m ready - but if you would be so kind as to let me have a good first day tomorrow, I’d appreciate it._

Thus, her first day as a resident of the town of Forks came to an end. 

\-- End of Ch. 3 --

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo, did you like it? What do you think will happen next? What do you WANT to happen next? 
> 
> I make no promises about the speed of updates going forward (so that no one will be dissapointed), just know that I'll be doing my best haha. So much love to anyone who decided to check this story out, and especially to those who leave reviews. You truly make my day.  
> Happy New Year!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how long this chapter took to get out, I was possesed by some kind of writing monster and just produced more pages of text in a row than I have IN MY LIFE. It's actually insane, how I went from writing chapters of about 200-400 words to a chapter of almost 8000. Anyway, hope it was worth the wait, and that you'll forgive me if things take some time - this is seriously the first thing I've written every where I've gotten beyond chapter 2, so do feel honoured. 
> 
> As always, thanks to my AMAZING friend Sayuri_Zen_av_Elda who somehow agreed to beta read 17 freaking pages of text in one sitting (stay tuned for some of her comments at the end). Love you girl! <3
> 
> Ps: This took me a whole day just to edit, you see now why this shit takes time? XD Rip my studies, is all I'll say.

She woke up early enough that the sun had just started to rise above the horizon, about an hour earlier than she usually would, likely due to the slight time difference between Phoenix and Forks. The first rays of sunlight were colouring the sky a light baby pink, in stark contrast with the grey clouds that were looming on the horizon, as though waiting to gobble up what little light had managed to sneak its way through their normally impenetrable barrier. 

Bella yawned. She almost wished she could stay beneath the covers a little while longer, but force of habit made her get out of bed. Still half-asleep, she made her way to the window, and stood there admiring the sunrise even as the rainclouds drew steadily closer. She never did understand just why the original Bella hated this town so much. Sure, she thought, Phoenix was one kind of paradise, with its sun, desert sand and proximity to the sea, but all places had their charms, and Forks certainly wasn’t _ugly._ It was different, and maybe a bit much to bear the whole year round, but there was something captivating about the gloomy greenery nonetheless. 

Movement in her peripheral vision made her cock her head slightly to the side and focus on the tree on the other side of the glass. For a split second some small part of her almost expected to see a certain brown-haired vampire clinging to one of the branches, but of course that wasn’t the case. What reason would he even have to spy on her? They hadn’t even met yet. No, it was just a small, ordinary bird, sitting with its head tilted and looking at her as though questioning what she was doing up at such an ungodly hour. 

Slowly, Bella tilted her head in mimicry, mouthing, ”You’re not the only one who likes to watch the sunrise, you know.”

The bird, looking affronted, thrilled once before launching itself into the air and disappearing out of sight. 

Bella shook her head, laughing. _Adorable._

After changing into a pair of yoga pants and a sports bra, she did some light stretching and sun salutations, since she wasn’t in the mood for a harder workout that morning. When she was done with those, she simply sat trying to center herself for a few minutes. She focused on trying to draw a sense of peace into herself, figuring that she’d probably need all the help she could get that day. When her head and heart felt about as clear as she thought they were gonna get, she headed for the shower. 

As she rubbed herself clean beneath the hot rush of water she hummed, delighting in the feel of cleanliness and newness that the ritual brought. She imagined the water washing away all of the stress that she might have felt in connection to this day, leaving only good emotions behind. She wasn’t entirely successful - she could still feel a stirring of something like stress in the deepest pit of her stomach - but on the whole she felt a little calmer than she thought she would have, at least. 

_Don’t make a big deal of it,_ she told herself, _it’s just High School, and this is not your first rodeo._

Feeling fairly optimistic, she dressed in a lacey white bralette, some worn-in light-wash jeans and a light pink cardigan that closed with a bow in the front. Then, she put on her usual assortment of small golden-hoop and crystal-stud earrings, a golden star necklace and a few stone-shard bracelets for good measure. She hadn’t wanted to travel with all of her usual jewelry because of airport security, and hadn’t realised how empty she’d felt without it until she put it back on just then. Finally, she put her shoulder-length hair up in a small ponytail, and went downstairs. 

She got started on breakfast, and since she had more time than usual, also made lunch for Charlie and herself - a simple buffalo-style chickpea wrap. She was just putting the finishing touches on the dish when a bleary-eyed Charlie shuffled into the room. 

Bella grinned at him. “Hey sleepyhead, you ready for a productive day down at the station?”

Charlie blinked, looking completely stumped. His eyes jumped from her, to the perfectly laid out breakfast buffé on the small kitchen table, to the rest of the food that was laying all over the counters, clearly meant for later.

“Uhh, yeah.”

Bella held back a snicker at the way he was so clearly confused.“Great, you want to shower first or do you usually start with breakfast?”

Seeming a little more awake now, he scratched his head, a small smile starting to form on his lips, “Breakfast looks great.”

“Cool.”

They sat down, both helping themselves to a little bit of everything. She’d had to make do with what little ingredients Charlie usually kept in the house, and it definitely could have been healthier, but despite the white bread, the ham, and the worryingly out-of-date cereal, she’d still managed to whip up some healthy options. The sauteed greens and roasted nuts were her personal favourite, despite the way Charlie wrinkled his nose at them. No matter, she thought, she’d get to him eventually. 

“So, Bells, when d’you get up?” He asked, as he spread some butter onto a piece of toast. 

“Not too long ago, pops, don’t worry.” She grinned knowingly at him. 

Charlie smiled back sheepishly. 

For the better part of breakfast they sat in silence, both enjoying each other’s presence without the need for words. By the time one of them spoke again, they had both finished their first round of food and were on to their second, which consisted mostly of a few nibbled bites here and there and a great helping of extra strong black coffee - if you were Charlie - and a depressingly black shot of espresso because you were out of options (and plant milk) - if your name happened to be Isabella Swan. 

“Excited for your first day of school?” he asked. She could tell that he was trying to sound nonchalant, and she appreciated the minimal fuss, so different from how her mother would have acted if she were there. 

Bella hummed thoughtfully, taking a sip of coffee before answering honestly, “I’m a little nervous, but optimistic, I think.” 

“You’ll do great. Your classmates are good kids (she kindly pretended not to hear the whispered “mostly” he coughed under his breath). They’ll love you.”

Heart warming, she looked at him and smiled, “Thanks, dad.”

He cleared his throat and looked away, spots of red starting to form once again on his cheeks. “I- uh- forgot to tell you. I bought you Billy’s old Pickup. Had them bring it over late last night.” He glanced at her. “Hope you don’t mind. I know you could have bought yourself something better, but we don’t know how long you’ll be staying yet, and I thought- it’s a great first car, a bit old maybe-” 

She got up, went around the table and threw her arms around him, hugging him as hard as her tiny arms could manage, “You’re the best.” 

He patted her back awkwardly, but sounded happy when he said, “‘Welcome, Bells.”

She let go of him, grinning. “Can I see it?”

“Sure, let me just-”

But she didn’t wait for him to finish. Instead she raced to the front door, pausing just long enough to stuff her feet into a pair of sneakers, and bounced outside. The old beat up thing - she still couldn’t get over the fact that he’d managed to smuggle it over last night without her noticing - stood out like a sore thumb against the grayish-green landscape, yet somehow seemed to fit in perfectly. It’s not what she would have picked - her tastes had always leaned towards more modern silhouettes - but she loved it nonetheless, for the simple reason that Charlie had gotten it for her. 

But it also reminded her of the original story, and a thought entered her head unbidden, accompanied by a sharp flash of pain in her chest: _This wasn’t supposed to be mine._

Charlie’s approaching footsteps made her shake the thought off. She wouldn’t be here if she weren’t meant to be, after all. The universe didn’t make mistakes. She turned around, grinning (and if it was a little less radiant than her first, Charlie didn’t seem to notice), “I love it.”

Charlie patted her head in reply, looking distinctly self-satisfied. It was a good look on him. 

After they’d finished admiring the car Charlie went to shower, and Bella, after cleaning up in the kitchen and packing their respective lunches, went upstairs to collect her bags - one containing school supplies, the other her electric violin. Charlie still wasn’t out by the time she had finished getting ready and she wanted to get to the school early, so she shouted a quick goodbye through the bathroom door and, upon receiving a ”Bye!” in return, bounded down the stairs and out the front door. 

The Chevy started with a rumble, the motor obnoxiously loud but still endearing somehow (or maybe that was her affection for Charlie speaking). The sky, now entirely covered by a thick layer of cloud, had decided to release a steady sprinkling of light mist onto the residents of Forks, but Bella wasn’t bothered. In fact, it was kind of refreshing after so many years of sunny weather, though she imagined that the novelty would wear off eventually. The car’s interior smelled distinctly of cigarettes, so she cranked the window open a bit, relishing in the feel of water on her face as she drove. 

It’d been a long time since she’d experienced rain like this. It reminded her of another life, where rain had been an every-day occurrence, not something to be treasured or sought after. For the duration of the short trip, she let herself reminiscence about those days - then she tucked the memories away behind a wall of smooth, impenetrable steel. 

Finding the school wasn’t difficult, even considering her less-than-stellar sense of direction. It was situated just off the highway, a sign reading “Forks High School: Home of the Spartans”, a pretty good clue to its location. A collection of matching maroon-brick buildings surrounded by trees and shrubs, it wasn’t much to look at - certainly not compared to her last school - but she could already tell that it was a close-knit community that she was about to become a part of, and a part of her was thrilled for the experience. 

She parked outside of a small building, the sign on the door proclaiming “Secretary’s office”. Immediately, she was hit by a sense of déjà vu, and suddenly she had to close her eyes and take a deep breath, then two, then three. Her hand went to her chest, fumbling around for the crystal that should have been hanging there, but that she hadn’t dared put on in addition to her other jewelry, for fear of too many questions. She didn’t know how long she sat there, hand cramping, heart racing, lost in a whirlpool of emotions that threatened to consume her, before her breathing finally slowed. 

Slowly, she opened her eyes. _Ok_ . _It’s ok,_ she told herself, _You just have to let it hit and get over it. This is_ your _life now._

After a few more minutes of sitting in the car, rain pelting the tin-can roof, she felt back to normal again. More centered, more herself. _Let’s do this._

She got out of the car, locked it, and pushed the office door open. It was a small room, with an even smaller waiting area that consisted of a few folding chairs and two tiny tables. She bypassed those completely in favour of the desk at the front of the room, besides which there hung a bulletin board with a small selection of weathered-looking posters and flyers. Behind the desk sat a sweet-looking elderly woman with short, graying hair.

The woman looked up as Bella came to a stop before her, smiling curiously, ”Can I help you, dear?”

”Hi, I’m Isabella Swan. I came here to pick up my schedule? It’s my first day.”

”Oh yes of course, we’ve been expecting you.” Ms. Cope - according to her name tag - assured kindly, “Don’t you worry, Principal Greene will be by shortly to show you around the premises.”

“What?!” Bella screeched, suddenly horrified. _This can’t be happening._ “No, that _really_ isn’t necessary-”

The front door opened, interrupting her very reasonably worded demand that she be left the fuck alone. A man with a thin frame and small squinty eyes stepped through the door, and Bella got the distinct feeling that she’d been had. 

_Fuck._

“Miss Swan, I presume?” The man eyed har calculatingly, something greedy hiding behind his perfect manners that Bella didn’t like one bit. She fought to suppress a shudder. 

“...Yes, that’s… Correct.” 

“Good. I presume Ms. Cope has filled you in?” He didn’t stop to wait for a reply. “I’ll be giving you a tour of the premises, along with a showing of the private practice room that you were promised.”

He turned his attention to the front desk, “Ms Cope, if you would hand the girl her schedule?”

As the poor secretary frantically searched through a pile of identical-looking papers, Bella saw her chance. She turned to the principal and said, as firmly as she could manage, “Principal Greene, while I do appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to show me around, I assure you that it won’t be necessary. I’m sure I’ll be able to find my way around, just like _every other student_ in this school on their first day of class.” 

Mr. Greene turned to stare at her incredulously, “But you are _not_ like any other student here Miss Swan, your achievements-”

“I suspect you’ll find that I’ll speak much more _favourably_ of this school if its staff grants me the highest possible degree of normalcy, Mr. Greene,” she caught and held his gaze unflinchingly, “that was the agreement, after all.” 

“Hmp- Well I’ve never-” he sputtered. 

“Thank you Principal, truly.” 

He sputtered, mumbling about favours and ungrateful youths, but after what she’d said he really had no choice but to turn and leave. Bella tried not to revel too much in the satisfaction, but allowed a small pleased smile to escape, because really, she thought she’d earned it. 

As soon as the door hit his behind on the way out Ms. Cope started laughing.

”Oh my Lord, what I wouldn’t give to have that on tape. Margaret will be sad she missed it,” the woman chortled. “We’ve been waiting for someone to put that man in his place since the day he started.”

“Eh, you’re welcome,” she replied sheepishly, hoping against hope that rumour of the small confrontation wouldn’t spread past the office walls. 

“Now then,” the woman continued, still smiling brightly, while holding out a piece of paper, “Here’s your schedule, dearie. Is there anything else you need help with?”

“Actually,” Bella replied awkwardly as she took the proffered paper, “I was hoping you’d have a map of the school or something. You see, I’m actually not very good with directions…”

Ms. Cope smiled knowingly,“And you still turned him down, didn’t you? You really are something.”

Bella could actually feel herself starting to blush. She cleared her throat, “No comment.”

“Well, here you go sweetie,” the woman handed her a folded piece of paper from another pile, each fold seeming to house a map of one of the buildings (there were a lot of them), “Don’t be a stranger.”

”I won’t be, thank you Ms. Cope.”

She finally left the office, map and schedule clutched in one hand like a lifeline. _Well, thank god that’s over with._ She looked towards the main buildings. _On to the next challenge, then._

She drove the car around to park with the rest of the students on the student lot. Her car attracted some unwanted attention because of how loud it was, but Bella did her best to ignore the stares (that did not stop once she got away from the car anyway, so the chunky piece of metal probably wasn’t even to blame). 

She was early, so the parking was far from full, and the same went for the building corridors. Her first lesson, she learned after consulting the schedule, was Advanced Trigonometry with Mr. Miller in building 5. The building itself was easy to spot, but the room number took her a while to locate, and by the time she did about half the class had already arrived. 

She was shocked to find two impossibly beautiful faces among the crowd of seated students: a blonde woman who looked to just have stepped off of the cover of a magazine, and a big-muscled man with the body of a weight lifter and the face of a curly-haired cherub, also handsome beyond belief. The man looked up when she stepped inside, and grinned amusedly, sweeping his eyes around the room before turning back to stare at the woman as though she’d hung the sun and moon. The woman stared into empty space, only occasionally turning to meet her lover’s gaze, her face softening almost imperceptibly, before turning back to stone again as soon as she looked away. 

_Emmet and Rosalie. What are they doing here?_ She didn’t recall them being older, but then again, it had been close to two decades since she last saw the movies, let alone read the books. She should probably come to terms with the fact that she didn’t remember everything now, before more surprises had a chance to sneak up on her.

Bella decided to ignore them for now, turning to the man seated behind the desk at the front of the classroom. “Mr. Miller?” 

The man looked up. “Yes?” 

“I’m Isabella Swan, I’m new.” She mentally resigned herself to repeating that line at least half a dozen times more before the day was over.“Is there a seating plan or…?”

A spark of understanding lit in his eyes, “Ah, Miss Swan, of course.” He rifled through a pile of books that laid on one corner of his desk, pulling one out and handing it to her. He then gestured to a chair in the middle-left side of the room, “Have a seat.”

She did, trying her best not to pay attention to the curious eyes she could feel trained on her from all sides. She kept busy, rifling through the book she’d just been given, not looking up until the chair next to her was pulled out, a body flung carelessly into it just before the last ringing of the bell. 

She glanced to her right, cringing and looking away when a pair of curious brown eyes met hers. She went back to her book, feigning ignorance and hoping the unfamiliar guy would do the same, or better yet, that the teacher would start speaking soon, thus impeding any attempts at communication.

No such luck. 

“Hey,” a voice to her right whispered. Bella closed her, resigned. 

“Yes?” She whispered back, without looking up, the “What do you want?” clearly implied. He didn’t respond, instead a finger started to poke her arm insistently. 

_Patience, patience is a virtue_ , she reminded herself. She turned to face the guy for the second time, “Yes? What is it?”

He blinked at her, looking startled by her somewhat annoyed tone. “Hey,” he raised his hands in a motion of surrender,“I didn’t mean any harm. I was just wondering what you’re doing here, since I heard the transfer was a Junior. This is a Senior class.”

“I know,” Bella responded shortly, a bit mystified. _What did he care?_

“...Cool, cool. Uh, so, is there a reason for that or…?”

She raised an eyebrow, trying to keep a stern face on, but inside she was growing more and more amused. Was he seriously feeling wary of _her_ ? Not that she wasn’t flattered, but she was wearing a pink cardigan _with a bow_ for God’s sake. 

“I’d already finished normal Trig at my last school,” she said shortly, leaving it at that. _Three years ago,_ she didn’t add. 

“That’s awesome, think you can help a guy out then?” 

She turned to look at him, really look at him this time. He looked… Edgy? For lack of a better word. His hair was spiky and brown, his clothes were baggy and ripped and his face was handsome, by human standards. He had high cheekbones, a skin tone that hinted at a mixed, maybe hispanic background, and looked toned beneath the layers of clothing. More importantly though, his eyes were kind. He looked at her uncertainly when she didn’t answer, hands starting to tap out a nervous rhythm on the desk in front of him. 

She liked him, was the conclusion she came to - the way his appearance didn’t seem to match his personality at all felt familiar. _Safe_. But she still wasn’t about to make such a promise to a complete stranger. 

“Maybe,” she said. “We’ll see.”

At least the tapping stopped after that. 

At the front of the classroom, Mr. Miller _finally_ clapped his hands, signalling for attention, the murmur of voices quieting down in response. When he looked her way, though, Bella knew she was screwed.

“Attention, class,” Mr. Miller called, “Today we have a new student joining us. As you may already know, she is a junior, but she’ll be taking a few classes with you upper years for private reasons.” He turned to her, saying exactly what she’d feared he was gonna say, “Miss Swan, why don’t you introduce yourself to the class?”

While damning him in her mind in every language she knew, Bella rose, a smile plastered on her face. She looked around the class as she spoke, very deliberately avoiding meeting anyone’s eyes. “Hi, I’m Isabella Swan, but you can call me Bella. I just moved here from Phoenix to live with my dad, and I’m taking this class because I already finished taking Trig 1 at my last school. I hope we’ll get along.” Then she sat down, very deliberately not giving anyone the time to ask any further questions. 

There were a few seconds of silence as everyone blinked, before Mr. Miller cleared his throat, thankfully moving on with the lesson. She took notes, following along with the explanations without difficulty. She couldn’t help but notice the guy to her right (she still didn’t know his name) though: the poor guy looked completely lost. At first, he scrambled to take notes, clearly trying and failing to understand the concepts behind them, but around the half mark of the lesson he gave up completely and started drawing doodles in the margins of his book instead. 

Bella sympathised with him. In her first life, she’d hated mathematics. She still didn’t love the subject, but thanks to her mother’s insistence she’d had a pretty advanced education back then, which meant that when she’d had to re-learn everything in this life, she already had a solid background to fall back on, and as her understanding of the subject grew, so did her enjoyment of it. 

When the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson, she’d made up her mind. She gathered her things, including her violin bag (which thankfully no one had seen fit to comment on so far), pausing just before leaving to say, “I’ll do it.” 

The guy looked up, “Huh?”

“I said I’ll do it, I’ll help you.” She looked down at his notes and took a chance. Smirking, she said, “You clearly need it.” She hoped he’d pick up on the playfulness in her tone. 

The guy blinked, then broke out in the happiest puppy-dog smile she’d seen maybe ever, and she suddenly didn’t know how she’d ever been able to see him as anything but the sweetest cinnamon bun ever. Now it was her turn to blink, as he hurriedly stowed his things in his bag and stood, practically bouncing on his feet, but trying not to show it. 

“When? Where? Can I say thank you before we’ve even started?” 

Bella laughed. “Dude, slow down. Can I at least get your name before we decide on the details?”

“Oh, yeah,‘course.” He held out his hand with a mischievous wink, “I’m Dante, Dante Wilds, but my saviour can call me whatever she wants.” 

She raised an eyebrow at the hand, but nodded at the name, before sweeping out of the classroom. It wouldn’t do to give the guy too much leeway. As she predicted, he followed. 

“So, where are you off to now?” He asked as they moved through the crowded corridor. 

“Building 7,” she answered, “and before you get too excited, I won’t be able to tutor you every day. Once or twice a week is all I have time for. Take it or leave it.” 

He moved faster until suddenly they were walking side by side. “That’s cool,” he grinned, “I think that’s all the extra maths I could stomach in a week anyway.” 

Bella tried really hard not to smile at that. She suspected she failed. Spectacularly.

“Listen, I have to run,” he said suddenly, “Ms. Jones is such a hardass. But you can join me for lunch if you want, and we can talk about it more then?” 

She thought about refusing just to see how he’d react, but she just couldn’t do it. 

“Ok.”

He beamed, then looked around, realised what he was doing, and toned it down a couple of notches. He coughed. “Great, see you then!” And then he really ran off. They were almost outside by then, so Bella had the distinct pleasure of seeing him run like a madman across the lot, students parting like the red sea before his flailing limbs. 

She chuckled, shaking her head, and headed for building 7, which was just two buildings over in a merciful stroke of logical planning. Was it sad that she’d almost gotten used to the staring by then?

It took her even longer to locate the room this time, since it once seemed to have been an out-of-the-way office of some sort. In any case, it was now her private practice room for the duration of her enrollment at the school, as per the agreement it had struck with her parents: the code to the keypad outside printed in small, almost indiscernible numbers on the top of her schedule. 

She put it in, waited for the light to turn green, and stepped inside, letting the door fall shut behind her. It was a good-sized room, a bit smaller than the average classroom, and it had clearly been prepped for her arrival. A large mat had been placed on the floor (for sound absorption); soundboards (for sound isolation) had been screwed into the walls, along with some acoustic panels here and there, and the only remaining furniture were three black plastic chairs and what looked like a lightweight Yamaha Folding Music stand. Perfectly usable, she just wouldn’t bring any larger books since the stand wasn’t equipped to hold them. All in all, the room was perfectly suited to her needs. Better than she’d expected, in fact. 

Motivated by that thought, she set her school bag down on one of the chairs, then moved it to stand against the wall. On the other chair she placed her violin case, opening it, as always, with great care, a part of her just as reverent as she was the first time she ever laid eyes on the instrument in her first life. She stroked it gently, before shaking herself and lifting it out. 

She got into position. 

This one time she played from memory, letting herself sink into the music in a way that you can only do when you’ve completely mastered a piece. She lost herself in the strokes; the ups and downs of the elbow; the back and forth of the hand; the organic pressing of finger against hard string, until eventually even that faded away, her body moving on autopilot, but never suffering for it. In fact, she and the music became one, so much so that when the bell signalling the end of second period rang, she jumped as though startled awake from a dream. A perfect, beautiful dream, to be exact, reality seeming bleak in comparison. 

As quickly and carefully as she could manage, she placed the violin back in its case, grabbed her other bag, and left, resolving to set a timer next time. 

According to her schedule she had two more classes before lunch, the first one being English with Mr. Mason in building 3. She had to jog to make it on time, since she was still incredibly confused by the way the room numbers seemed to be ordered completely at random, room 231 showing up after room 214 for seemingly no reason whatsoever. 

As soon as she stepped inside, a head at the back of the room snapped up. Bella tried her best to ignore it, she really did, but she was curious, so her best effort didn’t really last more than a couple of seconds. 

Their eyes met, and… Absolutely nothing changed. The world didn’t tilt on its axis; the oceans didn’t start to rise; the sun did not stop spinning. _Well,_ she thought, _that was anticlimactic._ Edward did seem to be struggling though, she noted. The girl seated next to him, a petite woman with pixie hair - Alice, her mind supplied - seemed to be whispering to him, probably trying to figure out what was going on… And keeping him occupied. After all, it wouldn’t do for the guy to suck a fellow student dry in front of a whole class of witnesses. Bella wasn’t worried, though. The one thing Edward had going for him in the movies had been his self-control. In some aspects of his “life”, that did _not_ involve sneaking in through girls’ windows, that was. 

Bella hadn’t expected to see him in this class, but then, she’d have to have met him sometime, and now was as good a time as any. Tearing her eyes away from his as nonchalantly as possible, she went to the teacher’s desk, repeating the same thing she’d said to the teacher of her last class. This one, too, handed her a textbook to use, but thankfully didn’t make her introduce herself to the class. One point goes to: Mr. Mason. 

Now, there was just one little hiccup to be resolved… Where to sit. She could practically feel the eyes of her future classmates measuring her up like vultures, as though waiting for a piece of juicy gossip to drop into their laps. She quickly concluded the vamps to be the safer option, marching to a seat just two chairs over from theirs (multiple chairs on either side of them standing curiously empty), and plopping down as self-assuredly as possible. When the eyes following her widened in response she simply smiled her sweetest smile at them, which morphed into a self-satisfied one once they turned around, mortified at having been caught. 

She pretended not to notice that the only two pairs of eyes that _didn’t_ seem to be letting up, were the ones belonging to the people (and she used that term lightly) seated on the same row as her. _Damn it, I probably should have gone human after all._ Oh well, there was no helping it now. 

For the remainder of the lesson Bella focused on Mr. Mason’s lecture on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. They were to read the play in a month’s time, then write a paper relating it to the history of the time it was written. Bella tried not to be too excited, but only having read the play twice yet in this life, she was already looking forward to getting reacquainted with it. The theme of the paper was also eerily close to one she’d written in university, so maybe she could reuse some of its contents, since the paper hadn’t been written (yet?). 

When the bell rang, her intentions were to leave as soon as possible, but she was stopped by two factors: one, Edward had shot up as soon as the bell had rung, and had then proceeded to run away as fast as humanly acceptable (Bella tried her best to feel sympathetic, and she _did_ , but that part of her was somewhat overshadowed by how funny it was to have a hundred year old vampire running away from _her_ ), and two, an adorable (but deadly, she reminded herself) pixie-haired Alice had just moved to block her way, a curious tilt to her head and a smile on her lips that was clearly meant to be dazzling. 

“You must be Bella,” she said. 

“Jupp, that’s me,” Bella replied, as nonchalantly as possible. _She can’t have seen something already, right!?_

That didn’t seem to be the case, but Bella resolved then and there to be extra careful all the same. 

When Alice didn’t say anything else Bella cleared her throat pointedly, “Uh, is there something I can help you with?”

Alice blinked, “Shouldn’t you be asking me something else first? Or do you not care who I am?”

Damn it. Oh well, she could play it off easily enough. “I’m sorry, but I _don’t_ really care who you are, and I’ve got places to be, so if there’s nothing else?” She gestured to where the girl was still blocking 

her way out. 

“Oh.” Bella tried not to feel guilty at how sad Alice sounded as she stepped aside, but it wasn’t easy. Her resolve lasted almost all the way to the door, but in the end, she caved. 

“Look,” she said, turning around a few paces short of the door, “don’t- I didn’t mean to be rude, I just have somewhere to be.” The way the vampire’s eyes lit up at that statement wasn’t creepy at all, she told herself. “See you later, weird girl. Maybe next time start by introducing yourself?”

She left without waiting for a reply. 

She was late for Spanish with Ms. Ferrera, and the only two seats left available were one in the back of the room, and another on the second row next to a blond girl with an excited smile on her face. Bella’s first instinct was to head for the seat in the back but she resisted, figuring that she should probably try to make some friends. Cautiously, she took the seat next to the girl, who beamed at her and immediately started shooting smug looks around the room. _Oh, god, what have I gotten myself into?_

“Hi, I’m Jessica Stanley,” the girl said excitedly, “You’re Isabella Swan, right? We’ve heard so much about you! Is it true that you’re here on a secret scholarship because you’re, like, a genius or something? And that you’re taking classes with the Seniors?” Her tone turned dreamy at the last part. 

“Uh, yeah, I’m Isabella, but you can call me Bella, everyone does.” Jessica kept staring at her excitedly, until finally she sighed, giving in, “I’m not here on some secret scholarship, but I am taking some classes with the upper years, since I already finished some of the classes offered here at my last school.” 

“So, you’re not a genius then?” Jessica sounded extremely disappointed by that discovery. 

“Some would say so I guess, but really I’m just a little quicker on the uptake than most,” Bella lied through her teeth. Well, _technically_ she really wasn’t a genius, though to the people of this world it would certainly seem so. The only area of life where she may genuinely be considered a genius was her playing, and even in that department she never really considered herself a genius, as such. It’d taken her a lifetime (now two lifetimes) of hard work to get to where she was, after all. 

“Oh, well, that’s cool too I guess,” Jessica said slowly. 

Thankfully, Ms. Ferrera shot them a menacing glare for daring to talk during her lecture, and the girl shut up after that. 

Bella had had a lot of free time as a child and youth in this life (a stark contrast to her first, she considered bitterly) and had taken to starting and dropping a number of unusual hobbies at the rate of which they ceased to interest her. Spanish she’d been fairly interested in around the age of 10 or so, and some of the knowledge had stuck with her, though she was far from fluent. French was another matter, since she’d been fluent in that since child’s legs in her first life, but she hadn’t just wanted to coast through the subject at Forks, instead preferring to actually learn something new. Now though, she was wondering if she should have chosen the other subject after all, with how basic the teachings appeared to be. They were copying down verb tenses, for god’s sake. _I’d probably get father studying the subject on my own with a textbook and a few movies,_ she thought. She resolved to order some more advanced books when she got home. 

Jessica kept sneaking her glances until they were divided into pairs (based on the seating arrangements, Bella noted resignedly). As soon as they were left alone to “discuss the tasks on page 21-27”, Jessica pounced. 

“So, Bella, how do you like Forks so far?”

“I like it fine,” she replied easily, going for nonchalance, “I did spend almost every summer and some winter breaks here, so I already kinda knew what to expect. School has been good so far, too.”

“Really?” Jessica’s eyes were round with surprise, “So you don’t, you know, miss the sun at all?”

Bella felt a sudden wave of affection for the blonde girl. She was so young, probably dreaming of traveling, seeing the world, falling in love. Maybe she’d judged her too harshly because of the original story. After all, Bella knew better than anyone what it felt like to be young, and unsure, and afraid of your own dreams; she also knew better than anyone that appearances could be deceiving. The idea that blonde girls who cared about their appearance were automatic bitches was such a freaking cliché - she would know, after all, she had been blonde once. 

She did her best to radiate as much sincerity as possible when she replied this time. “I do, Phoenix is beautiful, and I love it there, but I can always go back, and Forks has its charms, too. I _truly_ don’t mind being here.”

Jessica looked startled by her reply, but as though sensing that this answer was much more sincere than the last few, her face turned thoughtful. She looked down, biting her lip in what looked like a nervous habit, before replying, “I guess I can see that,” she mumbled, “Though…I still wish I could have grown up somewhere more interesting than _Forks_.”

Whatever answer Bella had been about to give to that was interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing in the isle next to their seats. They both turned, a sense of doom falling over their table. Ms. Ferrera lifted a dark, perfectly plucked eyebrow, shooting their textbooks a very pointed look. 

“Chicas, would you like to explain why you are not doing the tasks?”

“Ms- Bella’s new, I was just trying to make her feel w-”

“Jessica solo quizó hacerme sentir agusta, lo siento profesora.”

More than one head turned around at that, mouths gaping. Guess it had been too much to hope that they had all gone back to minding their own business, Bella thought with a mental sigh. 

Ms. Ferrera looked startled for a second, but her expression soon morphed into one of intense interest. 

“You… Speak French?”

Bella winced, “...Ouí, madame.”

“I was not informed of this, if I had known… No matter, we will fix this tomorrow.” And with those cryptic - and worrysome - words, she sashayed away, probably off to torment the next pair stupid enough not to at least _pretend_ to focus on the exercises. 

Bella could tell that Jessica wanted to ask a million questions, but she managed to convince her that they should concentrate on their tasks for the rest of the lesson. The girl wasn’t of much help, but Bella thought that was probably because she’d either already decided that she wasn’t good at the subject and therefore wasn’t even trying to get better, or because she genuinely didn’t care about it. Guess she’d have to wait and see. 

When the third bell finally rang, Bella made a break for it, having just declined Jessica’s offer to sit with her and her friends, “I already have someone to sit with today, but thanks.”

She went to drop her things off at her locker since she finally had time to go look for it, and decided that she’d leave her violin in there until the end of the day since she wouldn’t need it again before then. She’d been allocated one in building 3, which wasn’t too far from the cafeteria according to the map, and since her first lesson after lunch appeared to be in the same building, Bella decided to leave her book bag in there too, and just collect it right before class. That way, the only things she’d have to bring were her lunch bag and phone. That decided, she soon joined the hoard of students that were all headed in the same direction - and she wasn’t disappointed. 

The cafeteria looked pretty packed, but nowhere near as full as it would have been if every student had been present at the same time, so she figured that the younger years must have a different lunch period. Since she already had her lunch, she could bypass the line to the food court, instead heading directly for the collection of round tables that took up most of the room. She was busy scanning for a specific head of spiky hair, idly wondering if Dante had even had time to arrive yet, when a hand grabbed a hold of her arm and tried to spin her around. Startled, she struck out, feeling her hand connect with something solid. Confused, but already starting to form a suspicion of what had happened, Bella looked down and saw - speak of the Devil - Dante himself, crouched on the ground, cursing with a hand rubbing circles on his chest. 

“No sneaking up on the new girl,” he coughed, “noted.”

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, “you startled me. You ok?”

“No worries,” he got up, dusting himself off and shooting her an easy, though somewhat grimacy grin, “I’m tougher than I look.”

He gestured to a table in the middle of the cafeteria, where three people were already seated; a girl, and two guys, all of whom looked…Completely average. _Don’t be judgy_ , she told herself, _average can be good, familiar, cozy, even -_ The girl shot her a look of disdain - _or it can be a source of resentment. Great, just what I needed._

“Hey guys, this is Bella, the girl I told you about?” Danted gestured her way and Bella smiled, waving at the guys and staunchly ignoring the girl for as long as possible, “She’s saving my ass, so be nice to her, alright?”

One of the guys, the one with the darker hair of the two and a lanky acne-ridden face, shot her a genuine-enough looking smile, but looked otherwise uninterested, going right back to his phone after the exchange. The second guy, by far the least-average looking of the bunch, with blue eyes that contrasted nicely with his tanned skin and brown hair, was more intense in his scrutiny. She thought she saw a football jacket hanging off the back of his chair, and wasn’t surprised. After a moment’s study he gave her a short nod, which she returned. Finally, the girl who’d shot her such a scathing look was thin and petite, with short black hair that fell around her shoulders in a straight, unforgiving curve. She might have been pretty, if not for her sallow skin, a nose that was slightly too big for her face (but even that could have been charming), if not for the permanent scowl she seemed to be fixed on her features. 

They took a seat, Dante gesturing at each person in turn. “This,” he said, as he pointed at the jock, “is David.” He gestured at the girl,“This is Ivelle, Vell for short. And this here,” he pointed at the first guy, “is Touma.” 

“Nice to meet you all,” she said, trying not to think about how much more comfortable she’d be alone in her practice room. 

“So,” David started, still looking at her as though searching for faults, “I hear you’re a junior?”

A beat passed before Bella realised that he actually wanted an answer. “Yes.”

“How come you’re in his class then?”

_Here we go again. “_ As I’ve told probably the whole school at this point, my old school was fairly advanced, so I’ve already taken a bunch of you guys’ junior classes. The school was kind enough to let me pick some senior subjects to fill out my schedule.”

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow, “Because the story I heard was pretty different.”

She was really starting to run out of patience now. 

“Well that’s what happens when you listen to rumors - you get to be mistaken.” 

David narrowed his eyes at her and she narrowed hers right back. Lord knows how long they would have sat there staring each other down if not for Dante reaching over and flicking the guy on his head.

“Ow! What the fuck, dude?!”

“I told you not to mess with her, I need her.” He turned to her. “I’m sorry, my friends can be such douches but I promise they’re not bad once you get to know them.”

“It’s fine,” she said, resigned but a little bit amused at the desperation in his voice. “Do you want to decide the tutoring schedule now?”

He lit up, “Yes, please!”

Bella laughed. “Alright.”

She took out her schedule, studying it for a moment before saying, “I end at 14:55 every day. You?”

“15:10. Guess we don’t have any more classes together then,” he said jokingly. 

“Guess not,” she replied teasingly, though she was secretly a bit saddened by the realisation. 

He hummed quietly to himself before putting his own schedule down and shrugging, “It doesn’t matter much to me which day we do this. I do some work around my parent’s store a few days a week, but they’ll be ecstatic knowing that there’s even a chance of me not failing Trig, so they’ll let me move my hours around where I need to.”

She nodded. “How does Tuesdays sound then - to start, at least? We can hole up in the library for a few hours, and see how much we get done. If we need more time we’ll solve it then.”

Danted nodded enthusiastically. “Works for me.”

“Great,” she said. “Then, if you’ll excuse me?” She started to get up, but was stopped by Dante’s hand on her arm once again. 

“Where are you going?” 

“I have some things that I have to get done.” She didn’t, in fact, but eating at a table with two people who were constantly glaring daggers at her wasn’t exactly Bella’s idea of fun, so she’d decided to extract herself from the situation. 

“Aw,” Dante pouted, but relented. 

He let her go and she smiled reassuringly at him, “See you tomorrow, Dani.”

“Dani?!” He spluttered, but she was already leaving, “I never said you could call me that???!”

Bella snickered, waving his protests away over one shoulder. 

She spent the remainder of lunch seated against the wall of one of the outer buildings. It faced the forest, and even though it still drizzled slightly she found the whole scene to be captivating. The roof kept her mostly dry but when she rose after almost an hour of sitting still, she could feel that her clothes were slightly damp. Tomorrow she’d make sure not to leave her jacket in the car. 

She swung by her locker, grabbing everything she thought she might need at home, including her violin, since this would be her last class of the day. Then, she made her way to creative writing with Mr. Whitmore. 

By some stroke of luck (or, she thought guiltily, by some _careful planning_ courtesy of Principal Greene) the classroom really was close to her locker, and for once she was one of the first to get there. She chose a seat on the second row at random, hoping that she wasn’t stealing it from someone. 

As the classroom slowly started to fill up, she checked her phone for the first time that day. She hadn’t wanted to feel tempted to call or text someone for support so she’d had it on silent in a hidden compartment in her bag ‘til then, but now that the day was almost over without any great disasters having ensued, she felt safe enough to take it out. There were a few supportive texts from René, and one missed call and text from a person dubbed “can’t take a hint”. She sent a quick thank you to her mom, but deleted the second call and text without looking at them. She was tempted to delete or block the contact altogether, but knew from experience that it wouldn’t be of any use. 

Done, she slipped the phone back into its compartment, and straightened in her chair. She looked up just in time to see another pair of impossibly beautiful students step through the door. 

_Ok, what the f is happening here?? Why do I have every single one of them in one of my classes? I thought skipping around in different years was gonna stop me from seeing them everywhere I go? And also, WHY DO THEY ONLY MOVE IN PAIRS???_

_S_ ure, she’d wanted to meet them eventually, but this was getting just a little bit ridiculous. 

_Why is Jasper here? Did he like this sort of thing?_ Bella couldn’t recall. _And what in the ever-loving fuck is Emmet doing in a creative writing class?_ Their eyes zeroed in on her, and Emmet froze in place, none of the humour of that morning left in his expression. _What went up his ass and died?_

She raises an eyebrow at him, not breaking his stare even though the vampire looked more murderous than she’d even thought him capable of. Jasper, who she would have assumed to be the more vicious of the two, gave her a cold and indifferent stare before ushering his brother forward, into a seat at the very back. 

Bella tried not to let it bother her, but the rest of the lesson, interesting though it was, she could feel Emmets stare like hot lasers on the back of her head. By the time the bell rang she was almost as pissed off as he’d appeared, with much more reason. 

She collected her things with more violence than was strictly necessary, earlier optimism hanging by a thread that was very close to snapping. The only saving grace, she thought as she stomped her way to the front of the classroom, was that she was finally free to go home. _No more Cullens for a day, what a fucking treat._ Emmet's gaze followed her to the door, a literal weight seeming to lift from her shoulders as she stepped out into the corridor. She sent one last returning glare over her shoulder. _What’s his deal anyway?_

She shook herself, breathing out and trying her very best to let go of the negative energy and stress that had accumulated during her last class. She’d had a tendency towards impatience and anger ever since she woke up in this life, probably due to two factors; first, that she hadn’t been allowed an outlet for them her first life, and second, because of the trauma and resentment that _literally dying_ had brought into her existence. 

She slammed her locker shut, heading for the lot at the end of what felt like a very long day, trying her best not to think about the fact that she’d have to do it all over again tomorrow. _Americans and their repetitive-ass schedules._

Thankfully, she didn’t see smoke of either the Cullen clan or their cars (not that she looked) when maneuvering herself out of the lot. She wasn’t sure that she could have resisted the temptation to scratch their shiny polished hides, even though she’d have felt bad about it later. _Patience,_ she reminded herself for the second time that day, _patience is a bleeping virtue._

\- Fin - 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, one thing that may need to be clarified: Bella's spanish teacher realises that she speaks french while she's speaking spanish because she has a french accent. I tried to convey this through the word "quizó" which in reality is just spelled "quizo" but french tend to lift the ends of words that should not have an apostrofe (sorry if this is confusing, I only speak one of the languages above (I wonder if you'll guess which one) but I tried my best to convey what I was getting at). 
> 
> As promised, here are some comments from my dear beta: 
> 
> "I love Charlie. That's it, that's all I wanted to say."
> 
> "Relatable, I'm not a morning person either."
> 
> "Considering it's loud enough to wake the dead, so am I."
> 
> "Love these small details."
> 
> "I have no idea what this is, but it's maths, and I hate maths, so begone Satan."
> 
> "OMG, an edgelord. HAHAHA."
> 
> "Danteeeee I love youuuuuu."
> 
> "I just witnessed a murder."
> 
> and, last but not least, 
> 
> "Nooooooo gimme moreeeeeeeeeee."
> 
> Love you all, thanks for giving this a shot, and do comment if you have the time, means the world <3.
> 
> Ps: there was a problem with this chapter, it got posted too early in the wrong format, so for anyone who saw that - you were not crazy, and it's fixed now!

**Author's Note:**

> So, did you like it? Hate it? Should I post more?!


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